New Orleans now offers a soulful culinary phenomenon that's more often seen on the streets of New York City or Los Angeles: taco trucks.Residents of New Orleans have embraced the mobile taquerias' offerings, including al pastor and pork tacos. Some even go for the more exotic cow's head and tongue varieties, both of which are some of my favorites. Even though the public has warmed up to a type of restaurant little known before an influx of Latinos came to the state seeking reconstruction work, Jefferson Parish officials have recently banned the trucks. The new law gave vendors only 10 days to set up restrooms and washing stations. I've certainly wished for both of these amenities after wolfing down a few tacos de carnitas on the streets of Jackson Heights, Queens. But it's simply not going to happen. It should be pointed out that if my fair city banned the taco trucks, there's a fair chance that I'd soon find myself living in L.A.
But back to the story at hand. Jeff Parish pols raised concerns that the mobile kitchens are unsanitary, even though state health officials found nothing wrong. As the article I read pointed out, the taco trucks are embroiled in a food fight of sorts. To be sure, racisim also plays a role in the ban, but so does a concern that the cuisine of Puebla threatens the historic foodways of the Big Easy. New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas recently asked, "How do the tacos help gumbo?"
The burning question for me is something more along the lines of, "How soon can I get me a boudin noir taco?
May is National BBQ Month and National Hamburger Month
Cupcakes, not for dessert (unless beef is your idea of a treat)
Because eating French Fries in the car is so tough
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-15-2007 @ 6:25PM
tzurriz said...
Umm, New Orleans isn't in Jefferson Parish. New Orleans is in Orleans Parish.
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7-15-2007 @ 9:31PM
Blair said...
Umm, doesn't matter, my city is almost 10 miles away, still the mailing address is for it. metro area is a growing thing.
As for the tacos, I wish we had those mobile taco stands here, they could make a lot of money in the "nice" months. I know that I would give them a try!
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7-15-2007 @ 9:45PM
bdw said...
Mobile food servers leach money away from local brick-and-mortar restaurants which pay mojo taxes and employ locals. If these restaurants close because of this inexpensive competition, the local government loses; therefore both the restaurants and the local government have good reason to pressure the mobiles.
On the other hand, the mobiles are cheaper and often fresher and introduce exotic foreign foods, pleasing the customers.
We have had this same question here in Ct; West Haven went from a licensing fee of ten dollars a year per truck to $500, effectively banning them from town. The mobiles were also showing up at charity events and competing with donator food stalls, which didn't make them popular with the unofficial but influential powers that be. In New Haven the trucks have been limited to certain area where there are few restaurants and a large workforce.
I don't really have a dog in this fight, it's just fun to observe the local politics, which are played full contact and with few enforced rules.
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7-15-2007 @ 10:38PM
Jane said...
One would think that New Orleans has bigger problems without worrying about some food trucks...
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7-16-2007 @ 1:19AM
RobynT said...
thanks for the info bdw! i was wondering if there were regional laws that enable these kinds of trucks to survive in some areas and not others. what you say leads me to believe that the trucks would be allowed in places that already have a lot of thriving restaurants?
i wonder if some places have more of a history of these trucks so that there would be a public uproar if they were challenged.
i also agree with Jane about New Orleans having bigger problems. i wonder how that's related... are there a lot of brick and mortar restaurants in NO right now? it seems that these trucks have their own kind of appeal too and could attract visitors!
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7-16-2007 @ 9:44AM
Wade said...
Jefferson Parish never had a problem with Manuel's Hot Tamales setting up on Veteran's Blvd and in other locations prior to the storm. I remember them setting up across from Schweggman's in front of the bowling alley in the 1990s.
New Orleans has no say over what goes on in Jefferson Parish. New Orleans' laws and ordinances stop at the parish line. Different cities, different counties/parishes.
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7-16-2007 @ 5:17PM
Kevitivity said...
Los Agneles is trying to crack down on it's taco trucks too. Not only do they leach money away from established brick-and-mortar, they have become a serious health risk due to poor food handling practices. There is a really scary article about San Pedro taco trucks @ the DailyBreeze.com but it's been moved into the archives.
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7-16-2007 @ 7:38PM
Barry said...
"Umm, doesn't matter,..."
Actually it does matter as Jane's comment illustrates beautifully.
Blog posts that lump everything down there together like this are irresponsible. People with no knowledge of the Parish set-up will think, "there goes New Orleans again..." when it fact it's Jefferson Parish, not the city or Parish of New Orleans.
Incidentally my friends in the Parish of New Orleans are baffled/disgusted by the actions of Jefferson Parish.
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